1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mobile devices and, more particularly, to secure access to local services of mobile devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wireless network is often used to transmit messages from one location in a network to a destination location in the network. These messages contain data to be supplied to the destination location. In some cases the messages are responses to requests for information from a source location. In other cases the messages are notification messages that are sent to the destination location without any specific request. The wireless network typically includes various mobile devices. Also, the network that the wireless network is coupled to often includes many remote servers that store various kinds of information.
Mobile devices are provisioned (i.e., configured) to operate in specific ways. The provisioning can be preset in the mobile phone, can be performed by a user, or can be performed when the mobile device connects to the wireless network. Often, the mobile devices will be provisioned over the air after the mobile device connects to the wireless network. The provisioning of a mobile device determines how various basic functions of the mobile device will operate. Typically, a mobile device has a set of local services that provides the basic functions of the mobile device. Examples of such basic functions include setting or updating wireless voice and data protocol parameters, address books, and various other parameters that can be used to enable or disable certain telephony and data features of the mobile devices.
The provisioning of a mobile device over the air means that local service parameters are acquired or set within the mobile device to control its operation by accessing provisioning information from the network. For example, a mobile device can request provisioning information from a particular remote server on the network, the mobile device can then be provisioned in accordance with the provisioning information acquired from the particular remote server. The particular remote server is ordinarily a service provider for a particular service to be enjoyed by the mobile device. As such, the service provider contains the necessary provisioning information to provision a mobile device over the air.
Often, the provisioning information acquired from the particular remote server is executable or binary code. The executable or binary code contains interfaces, data or operations that cause the mobile device to modify local service parameters so that some of the functions of the mobile device are set or altered. Examples of the executable or binary code include scripts, JAVA applets and compressed Mark-up Language data files.
Conventionally, because a mobile device can be provisioned from remote servers over a network, there are problems concerning unauthorized provisioning of a mobile device. In an open wireless network environment, it is plausible for any remote sites or service provider to access the local services provided by a mobile device. For example, a remote site or service provider can provision a mobile device to change the local service parameters supported by the mobile device. As a result, the local services of the mobile devices are open to malicious attack from hackers and the like which can cause the mobile device inoperative or operable in undesirable states. As an example, a virus code could be undesirably downloaded as provisioning information from an unscrupulous remote server to a mobile device and consequently would erase or damage local service parameters currently stored in the mobile device so that the mobile device no longer operates properly.
Thus, there is a need for ensuring secure access to local service parameters of mobile devices.